Saturday, February 28, 2009

Monday Goodies Recipes


Below are several recipes that Karen was busy cooking last week. Yum!

Peaches n Cream Oatmeal

1 c. steel cut oats
4 c. liquid (can use any combination of water, cream, milk, soy milk, oat milk)
Salt
Peaches, medium diced

Bring liquid to a boil. Stir in oats. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir every couple of minutes through the 30 minute cooking time. Adjust seasoning. Stir in peaches.

Food sources: Oats (Good Earth), Milk (Trader's Point or Apple Family Farms), Peaches (From our freezer from Your Neighbor's Garden this summer)


Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, diced
6 celery stalks, diced
2 quarts water
1 onion, chopped
6 T. butter
6 T. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. milk

In a large kettle, cook potatoes, carrots and celery in water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid and setting vegetables aside. In the same kettle, saute onion in butter until soft. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently stir in 3 c. reserved vegetable liquid. Simmer until taste of flour is no longer present. Gently stir in cooked vegetables. Add enough reserved cooking liquid to make soup desired consistency.

*Food sources: Trader's Point Creamery (milk), carrots (preserved from CSA), celery (preserved from CSA), onions (from Indianapolis Winter farmer's market), butter (Swiss Connection)




"Hoping for Spring" Strudel

3 large onions, sliced
2 T. butter
12 thin stalked asparagus, sliced
1/2 lb. shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 c. grated smoked cheddar cheese
Fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
4 T. butter, melted
Phyllo Dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large saute pan, melt butter and caramelize onions. Add asparagus and continue to saute. Add mushrooms and saute. Once mixture is well cooked, sprinkle with fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. Brush layers of phyllo dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once desired number of layers have been prepared, spoon vegetable filling onto dough. Cover with cheese. Roll jelly roll style.

Place on sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until phyllo dough is golden brown.

*Food sources: Trader's Point Creamery (cheese), rosemary (frozen from our garden), asparagus (preserved from CSA), shitake mushrooms and onions (from Indianapolis Winter farmer's market), butter (Swiss Connection)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Real Money Matters for Indiana


Victoria Wesseler at Going Local wrote a great piece today on the importance of eating local. Victoria has a vast experience in governmental affairs and has done a little research. Her theory is; if each family spends just $6.25 a week buying local food, it will produce up to a $1.5 billion impact on Indiana per year. As much as the government's want to kick around all the astronomical figures, this is what it really comes down to...buy local to keep your friends and family employed. Please take 2 minutes to read her articles.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

School Lunch Programs


I had the opportunity to set on a year long board to talk about the school lunch programs and edible schoolyards that was supported by the Eagle Creek Foundation. The finally of the discussions was an appearance by Alice Waters to speak at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It was truly disturbing to listen to teachers and school nutritionists talk about how the kids eat in the schools. I think one of the worst parts is; that they did not always believe it was bad.
Kids are lined up and walk into a cafeteria single file without talking. They are not allowed to talk while they eat... This sounds like a concentration camp, not a school in the US.
Then there is the food. Most schools don't have kitchens at this point. All the food comes from a central commissary where the "food" is prepared hours before lunch. Shipped to the school where the food is "dispensed". Forget using any fresh fruits or vegetables as the kitchens will not even have a cutting board or knife to prep them.
Good thing is that there are some schools that have made efforts to look at local fresh foods and even planting edible schoolyards. It has made dramatic improvements in the health of the children in the schools as well as the neighborhoods. The picture above is taken at in edible schoolyard in an impoverished area of Muncie. The garden was planted on an abandoned lot in an area where half the houses were abandoned and no one cared about the neighborhood. The kids picked up litter as they walked to the garden. Soon the parents started picking up litter when they were out. It became contagious and soon neighbors were mowing lawns of abandoned houses and taking more care of their houses. It was dramatic to see what could happen in one year.

Check out this Op-Ed piece that was in the New York Times, co-authored by Alice Waters:
Op-Ed Contributors
No Lunch Left Behind
By ALICE WATERS and KATRINA HERON
Published: February 20, 2009
The National School Lunch Program, costing around $9 billion a year, has turned out to be a poor investment. It should be redesigned to make our children healthier.
View the full piece

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tourist in Your Own Hometown, Sunday


Sunday

We're still in love with Indianapolis. Our kind of town. This is not a sentence we would have written with such conviction just three short days ago.

Thom E is all out of new shoes, so we have to walk down to breakfast in our slippers. How cozy. It was fun to hear the group's adventures from the day prior.......discovering Goose the Market , stocking up at Trader Joe's and seeing Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time.

After an omelet and some warm coffee cake, we packed our belongings and headed to our first stop of the day, the Oldfield-Lilly House and Gardens. This 26-acre historic estate is on the same property as the Indianapolis Museum of Art. These are both free events as well. It's amazing how much you can see and do in Indianapolis at no charge. This has been a shocking discovery for both of us!

Anyway, we toured the home and learned that J.K. Lilly purchased the home from the Oldfield family. The audio tour headphones (free, also) clued us in to the history of each room and insights about the people who visited them. Lilly had an impressive collection of first issue books that he donated to Indiana University some years ago. Beyond the house, we enjoyed touring the well designed gardens. We would like to visit there again in the fall and spring, as the gardens were designed to be the most magnificent during those seasons.

We planned to spend the afternoon in Fountain Square, one of Indianapolis' oldest neighborhoods and the oldest historic district in the state. It's only five minutes from downtown but feels a world apart. Most of the restaurants and shops are closed on Sundays, so you might plan ahead better than we did!

We still found plenty to keep ourselves entertained, though, like lunch at Siam Square. This restaurant absolutely qualified as a hidden treasure! It's located in the building Bistro 936 formerly occupied on Virginia Avenue and serves up unbelievably tasty Thai cuisine. We sampled Som Tum, a papaya salad with peanuts that was so hot I felt certain we had been transported to a Floridian beach mid-August. We couldn't stop eating it! Siam Square uses local foods (they can even tell you the name of the lady who grows their Thai chili peppers) and can tell you the cultural nuances of each dish (such as the popularity of green curry with Thai people).

Vegetarian friends, please visit this Mecca. You may need to bring along some tissues, though, because the sheer number of vegetarian options will move you to tears. Move over dinner of side dishes at the local steak house!!!!!!!!!

We worked off our lunch with a highly entertaining hour of Duck Pin Bowling. I am generally not a fan of any event that involves wearing used shoes (notable exceptions would include offers of used Jimmy Choo's, Manolo Blahnik's and anything Prada), but this was an absolute riot! If economic circumstances ever dictate a job change, I should not plan to support myself by joining the professional Duck Pin Bowling circuit.

OK, ok. Back to the history. Fountain Square Recreation originally opened in 1928 and featured a bowling alley and billiard hall. The business closed in 1957 and remained vacant until 1994 when it was restored with authentic 1920's vintage bowling equipment and a 1918 pool table. This is a very, very fun place to spend an hour.......or two..........especially when you finish it off with:

FRESH DOUGHNUTS. Friends, this is much better than Krispy Kreme. The Fountain Square Diner makes fresh doughnuts each morning. You can purchase one for the low, low price of fifty cents. That's three for $1.50 if you passed elementary school math, which means you can try the original, caramel frosted and chocolate frosted. (I hope my doctor is not reading this blog because I did try all three.)

We've decided that there is more to see in Indianapolis, and we plan to hit the local touring circuit again this summer.

Here's what we really learned:
-There's more than corn in Indiana.
-If you want to buy more than corn in Indiana, visit the winter farmers' market......Mayor Ballard was even there!
-It is still fun to encourage first-timers to try the shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo's.
-There are more reasons than ever to LIVE LOCAL.
-Knowing about your community builds your sense of community.

And, as my mother would say when we returned home from every vacation, "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

I'm clicking my bowling shoe heels together right now.

See all of the pictures

Monday, February 23, 2009

Tourist in Your Own Hometown, Saturday



Saturday

We shook off our dining hangover and bounded down the stairs for breakfast. We enjoyed visiting with the other guests, most of whom were perplexed as to why we would spend our hard earned money seeking lodging less than 30 minutes from our home. Among us were two teachers, an assistant school principal, an architect, a scooter salesman and two students. They hailed from Florida, Ohio and Illinois. We discussed local sites over a breakfast of eggs, fruit and waffles.

After breakfast, we bundled up for our adventure. Our first stop was the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument. We opted to pay $1 each to ride the elevator to the Observation Deck since we were still full from breakfast (and Thom E was wearing new shoes. I'm not bitter.). We enjoyed the view of Indianapolis and wondered why we've never done this before. How many times have we driven around the circle? Walked around the circle? Too many to count.

The monument was dedicated in 1902 and offers all the romantic possibilities contained in "An Affair to Remember," with the notable improvement that your hair will not be whipping in the mind. The observation deck is enclosed, although the window washer appeared to be on sabbatical.

We also toured the Civil War Museum located beneath the monument. It was a fascinating study of Indiana's role in this chapter of history. The museum is free, so be sure to stop by the next time you are leaving another important downtown destination......like the South Bend Chocolate company.......or Emmis, where you can make faces through the glass at radio personalities.

Lunch time already. We walked to City Cafe, primarily because they are known for sourcing food locally. This "shotgun" style restaurant has no more than 16 tables filled with happy diners. They serve breakfast all day on Saturdays, so we tried the Roast Beef Hash, eggs and homemade cinnamon rolls. HEAVEN. You must, must try this place!

After lunch, we visited the Indiana War Memorial (http://www.in.gov/iwm/). If you walk up the steps on the North side of the building and turn around, you will notice a very Washington D.C. like plaza. It was breathtaking, actually. The real treat was inside the memorial, though. This FREE monument has a gorgeous auditorium, stunning shrine room (top floor), and thought provoking depiction of war and conflict. Hoosier veterans are prominently featured, including databases where you can research your friends and loved ones that have served in the military. This self-contained history lesson reminded us of the value of the freedoms we enjoy. It was also a reminder of how far we've strayed from our roots, in some cases.......like the Victory Garden. We say bring back the Victory Garden! Check out these WWII era posters.......

We rounded out our Saturday touring with a self-guided tour of the Marion County Central Library. The glass to limestone building juxtaposition still troubles me, but the inside is fabulous. The top floor, facing South, has a great view of the city! We also enjoyed seeing how many kids were there enjoying the library!

We went back to Stone Soup Inn and changed clothes for dinner (enter Thom E's other pair of new shoes. Grrr.......). We enjoyed an early reservation at R Bistro . Owner/Chef Regina Mehallick is a wonderfully talented chef who prioritizes using local foods. The trendy building is no match for the fresh, clean taste of her cuisine. We had a hard time choosing just a few items to try, because they all sounded so great! Our absolutely delightful meal started with a refreshing salad of oranges, jicama, pine nuts and feta cheese and a seared sea scallop with celery root and grapefruit sections. The mark of a truly good meal is that each course is better than the previous one. We then enjoyed mushroom and goat cheese crepes and Maple Leaf Farms Duck with sweet potato hash......yummy. We finished the evening with chocolate soup and Red Velvet cake. There could not have been a sharper contrast to our Friday evening meal. And, thank you to Ariel for the phenomenal service!

The evening concluded with a visit to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for a performance with Michael Feinstein. The full house was treated to an evening of Frank Sinatra music in the historic Hilbert Circle Theater. We had a marvelous time and would encourage you to check out the performance schedule if you haven't been there lately.

We returned to Stone Soup Inn and composed the following Valentine, "Dear Indianapolis, We HEART you."

See all the pictures

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Tourist in Your Own Hometown, Friday


Friday

Friday the 13th. It sounds so ominous when I say it that way! We continued our adventure as tourists in our own town. We checked in to the Stone Soup Inn , located in the heart of Indy's historic Old Northside. The Inn's charm is welcoming, and the Lilly Room offered a great view of downtown Indianapolis. After settling in to our room, we visited Circle Center Mall to do some shoe shopping. I would like to point out the bitter irony of shoe shopping, which ended with Thom - two vs. Karen - zero. Maybe that WAS the scary part of Friday the 13th.

We arrived at Euphoria at around 8:30 p.m.. Unfortunately, we won't be posting any pictures of that.......mostly because I didn't enjoy it all that much. (You do know I'm talking about Euphoria the restaurant, right?) Euphoria is located in Buggs Temple on W. 11th St. The former church has been restored to include Creation Cafe on the first floor (think local version of Panera) and Euphoria (fine dining concept) on the second floor.

The dining experience was a great reminder of what happens when the kitchen cooks without passion. In fact, I was rather shocked to see such favorable reviews of the staff (chef, in particular) gracing the walls. There is no possible way that chef cooked our food.......like the fresh from the semi-truck rolls (still frozen in the center), begging to be seasoned entrees and chewy dessert profiteroles. Our server worked hard, but I am still proposing a restaurant name change from "Euphoria" to "Snooze-oria."

Editor's note: I did really enjoy the service and especially enjoyed a braise short rib entree.

Stay tuned for Saturday.

Saturday, February 21, 2009


Stuffed Squash

2 lbs. various squash (I used delicata, pumpkin and acorn)
1.5 lbs. ground beef (ours is from a local cow that lived a happy, free range life eating grass; you can purchase grass fed beef at farmers' markets, Apple Family Farms, Trader's Point Creamery)
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 c. tomato juice (we are using what we canned this summer)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan or firm white cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds (save them). Lightly grease squash on all sides, and place on a baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 10 minutes, or just until squash is fork tender. Remove squash from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Once squash is cool, scoop out pulp and roughly dice. Save squash shells for stuffing later.

Brown ground beef with onion. Drain grease. Add tomato juice and seasonings. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir in diced squash. Continue to simmer until all flavors are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff filling in reserved squash shells. Sprinkle with grated cheese prior to serving.

(These save well and can be reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes).

*I save all the squash seeds, roast them with salt and serve as a snack.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Recipes


Karen will be writing about last weekend in the next couple of days. In the mean time she sent over a couple of the recipes people have been asking for:

My favorite is
Butternut Squash Risotto

1 large butternut squash
Butternut squash seeds
1 c. almonds
3 T. raw milk butter
1 medium onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. Arborio rice
4 oz. white wine (something acidic works best)
4 c. hot chicken broth (from above recipe)
Grated Parmesan or firm white cheese
Salt and pepper
1 c. almonds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds (save them). Lightly grease squash on all sides, and place on a baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 15 minutes, or just until squash is fork tender. Remove squash from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees. Roughly chop almonds. Place on a separate baking sheet. Remove pulp from squash seeds, and place on a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Next to Place in oven for 5-10 minutes, or until almonds are lightly browned and fragrant. Squash seeds should be lightly browned and crispy (they may start to pop off the cookie sheet in the oven).

Once squash is cool, scoop out the pulp. Medium dice squash. Compost peel.

In a medium sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, saute the onion in butter until golden until translucent. Add garlic and saute 30-40 seconds. Add diced squash and saute 4-5 minutes longer. Add the rice and stir until well-coated and translucent.

Add the wine and cook until evaporated. Add two cups HOT chicken broth or stock (from above recipe). Stir in two cups of hot broth and simmer gently until broth is absorbed. Add another cup of hot broth, and continue to stir. Once that is absorbed, add the final cup of hot broth. Continue to stir until stock is absorbed over the course of 18-20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in grated cheese. Season to taste.

Serve garnished with toasted almonds and snack seeds.


Tomorrow I will post her Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Thursday - Tourist in your own home town


Our 4 day "tourist in your own home town" started Thursday afternoon. Indianapolis is well known as a stop for many of the Jazz legends. And, because of this, we have a great music scene here in Indianapolis. We definitely wanted to bring some of the music into our romantic get away. Karen and I met at the Arts Garden for lunch. Denise Tichenor-Collins played lively Gospel Jazz music.
Lunch was food from Goose the Market. Karen asked for a vegetarian option and Corrie was able to make her a sandwich that she later referred to as her new favorite sandwich. Myself, I went for the Wygu corned beef sandwich made from cows raised up in Roanoke Indiana.


Unfortunately, we both had to return to work. But, later that evening, we met at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for a behind the scenes tour. Tom; the executive director, led us through the history of the renovations to the present state of the orchestra. We were even taken back stage to see the inner workings of the acoustics. Even was able to peek into the music vault. Very interested and totally cool. It is amazing the little gems that are all around us.
We were able to do the tour as part of the orchestra's young professionals group, called Forte! For a small membership fee you get all kinds of perks from free tickets and drinks to special seating and networking events. This is a fantastic deal that I would recommend to anyone who is at all interested in hearing the great performances of our ISO.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tourist in your own home town


Karen and I were able to spend the big V-Day together exploring Indy as Tourists. We stayed at a B&B in downtown Indy, toured many of the monuments we drive by all the time and ate ate fabulous Independent places. Over the next few days we will be giving all the wonderful details. But, for now, just let me put it out there...Indy is incredible. All the time we travel to see amazing things and we have it goin' on in our own back yard. Stay tuned.

Part of the weekend excitement was an appearance on Fox 59 Morning News. I did a segment talking about some foods the food challenged people could cook for Valentines day. Check out the video.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Marvelous Monday

This may sound funny to many of you; but, Karen is the cook of the house. Most Mondays she will toil around the kitchen (many times while on conference calls) making the delicious meals for the week.
The process all starts on Sunday when she popped up and asked to get the list of ingredients for the next day. From the basement - Spaghetti Squash, a pie pumpkin, a butternut squash and a delicata squash (find out more about these squash). From the freezer - Hamburger, dark chicken meat and butter.
Then, I am at the school all day on Monday, returning at Midnight. So, to me, it is like Magic. I come home to a multitude of treasures in the fridge. This week

Karen Roasted the Pumpkin and Delicata squash; removed the pulp and sauteed it with the hamburger and a little tomato sauce. She then stuffed the mixture back into the shells of the squash.

She also removed the pulp from the butternut squash and made risotto with it. Topped with roasted cashews and hazelnut oil...YUM!

Like magic, in the fridge was spaghetti squash cooked with fresh tomato sauce.

She also made 2 qt of chicken broth and pulled about 2 pounds of chicken meat from the bones for a future treat. Everything was awesome (I had to try a little bite of everything right away). But, the most momentous thing to me is that she made the chicken stock. I have a little reputation of being very exacting when it comes to soups stocks and sauces. Karen has never ventured into this realm with me before. There is nothing better then the purity of a soup that is made with love. The foundation starts with the hours of love put into making a wonderful broth. She made love yesterday while I was at work.

I wish I was there to see her doing her dance in the kitchen.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Persimmon Sushi


Check out Going Local from February 3rd. They posted a recipe for Persimmon Sushi that we cooked for a dinner party. Many people were surprised when we explained that sushi was the rice; and, it does not always have fish in it. The Persimmon sushi uses an Indiana persimmon pudding as the center of the roll. The rice is cooked in coconut milk. It is great when combined with pickled ginger and finished off with a little white chocolate. The entire recipe for the sushi and persimmon pudding is on the going local website. I saw Persimmon pulp for sale at Apple works orchard on the far south side. Check the farmers markets also.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Eating Local Tips


The people at 100-mile diet Stepped in to challenge themselves to eat local for 1 year. This is what is said to have kicked of the "eating Local" movement. Below are some tips they give to eat local. Visit their website, or check out their books for more detail.

Getting Started Guide
The 100-Mile Diet is simple. It’s a living experiment in local eating that will reconnect you with your food, your local farmers, the seasons, and the landscape you live in.

Here’s how to get started:
1. Start small.
You can start with a single meal, a 100-Mile day, a one-week commitment. Most people partner up, or do the 100-Mile Diet as a family or group.

2. There are no rules.
Make your 100-Mile Diet experiment a challenge. If you’re trying it for a day, consider getting tough: every ingredient in every product has to come from within 100 miles (that was our rule for a year). Over a longer period, escape clauses are nice. Maybe the occasional restaurant meal or dinner at friends’ houses?

3. Surf the Internet.
There are likely resources specific to your area, from lists of nearby organic farms to community kitchens where people get together to can foods. A great resource for Americans is Local Harvest, where you can find markets, local-food-friendly restaurants, farms, and food delivery programs for every region.

4. Find your farmers’ market.
The easiest and most fun step toward eating locally. Make the market a weekly priority for your food shopping. To find yours, search the web, look for listings in local newspapers, or call your area’s tourism office. Check out our 13 Lucky Farmers Market Tips for more info. In Indiana just check Going Local

5. Find your farmers.
Most larger cities and many smaller towns have organic food delivery companies, often with direct connections to local farms. Consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, in which you support a specific farm by paying a lump sum at the beginning of each growing season and then sharing in that farm’s food products year-round. Check out Going Local for this info in Indiana also.

6. Start a garden — even a tiny one.
Self-sufficiency feels good, and greens up our cities and towns. Some communities have community gardens you can plant in. If you do not, remember this: many began as ‘guerrilla gardens’ planted on longtime vacant lots.

7. Plan a winter garden.
Winter is a tough time to find local produce, but you might be surprised at what still can grow. Ask your gardening friends or at garden shops, or read through regional seed catalogues. We keep garlic, kale, mustard greens, turnips and cabbage going throughout the winter. Spinach and Swiss chard are other good winter greens.

8. Buy in bulk and preserve.
Buying bulk saves money, and since it is often hard to find local preserves, you may have to do it yourself. Well, throw a party. With a few bottles of local wine and cider, even a small group can make quick work of canning jams, pickles, fruit and tomatoes. We also froze corn, spinach, carrots, basil pesto, beans, Brussels sprouts and more. A cornucopia for the winter. Don’t know how to do any of this? Neither did we. Call up your elders before the knowledge is lost, try the local library, or go online with National Center for Home Food Preservation.

9. Join the movement.
If you haven’t already, pledge to do the 100-Mile Diet to help you bring your eating closer to home. Everyone, and every meal, counts.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Playing "What's in the Freezer"


Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer recently had a cow butchered. We agreed that we would by 1/4 of the cow. So, this meant cleaning out the freezer to make way for Bessie. As I have mentioned; our goal is to make it through the winter without going to the store to buy food for personal consumption. We have 2 refrigerators and one chest freezer. One refrigerator freezer is full of baked goods. Karen spends the 3 days before Thanksgiving with a couple of girlfriends baking...seriously baking. We currently have 21 different pies stored away; among other desserts. The refrigerator in the kitchen is filled with items we should use up first or use more often. Then there is the black hole. The deep freeze in the garage.

So, no more procrastinating. I had to clean out the black hole. We spent the previous summer filling the freezer with fruits and vegetables to last through the winter. Being the first time we are stabbing in the dark out how much to save; and how to preserve them. One thing we realized was we should have been writing down how much we were saving and mark them as as we use them. So as I cleaned, I also inventoried.

A couple of realizations happened as i made was in the garage freezer; I definitely think we will have enough to make it through the winter. And, we have to eat a lot more green beans...we have 21 pounds of green beans stored away. Now I like green beans, but that is a pound of the vegetable a week between 2 people. I am sorry to all the green bean growers; but, there is a limit to legume love. So, if anyone wants to trade some canned tomatoes for frozen green beans let me know.

Some numbers on what we originally packed away in the freezer for the winter:
Heavy Cream 4 pt
raw butter 10 pound
Apple cider 1 Gallon
Black Berries 5 Qt
Blue berries 5 qt
concord grapes 2 qt
Peach Halves 1 Gallon
persimmon puree 14 pounds
plum halves 4 qt
plum halves 4 qt
red raspberries 5 qt
Tart Cherries 5 pound
Bison Sausage 1 Pack
Airline Breasts (4ea) 8 ea
Chicken Breast (2 ea) 2 ea
Dark Chicken Meat Quarters 8 ea
whole chicken 2 ea
Smoked Turkey Breast 1 Ea
Whole Turkey 2 ea
Venison Sausage Links 1 pack
Raspberry Puree 1 Cup
salsa 10 pt
Yellow pepper Puree 2 Cup
Joyce's Yeast Rolls 12 ea
Loaves of Bread Bread 6 Ea (I make these at home on a weekly basis)
Pizza Crust 2 Ea
cornmeal 5 pound
State Fair Polenta 3 pound
State Fair White Corn meal 5 pound
Eggplant Puree 1 #
Asparagus 1 #
Bok Choy 2 #
Broccoli 3 #
Broccoli stems 1 #
Carrot Puree 1 #
corn on the cob 60 ea
Frozen Peas 3 pound
green beans 28 #
okra 1 #
Snow Peas 2 #
pecan mushroom burgers 10 ea (Made with local mushrooms)
Ground Beef 16 #
Beef Chuck Roast 3 #
Beef Ribeye Steaks 5 #
Beef Stew Meat 5 #
cubed Beef Steak 2 #